Vestcor Inc Purchases 3,224 Shares of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,042 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $8,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Equity Residential by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 25,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Equity Residential during the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 367.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 126,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,082,000 after purchasing an additional 99,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Equity Residential by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 92.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equity Residential Price Performance

Equity Residential stock opened at $68.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.87. Equity Residential has a 12 month low of $59.48 and a 12 month high of $78.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equity Residential news, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total transaction of $46,262.52. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. This represents a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Scott Fenster sold 5,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $384,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,558,634.42. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,763 shares of company stock worth $1,424,217 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.25 target price on Equity Residential in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.51.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.